Box Score FULTON,
Mo.- Since 2008, the William Woods University men's basketball team has lost seven straight to the Park Pirates. That trend continued as the Owls lost the season series against the Pirates, falling 70-55.
It was a slow start for both teams in the first 5:00 minutes, however, the Owls held a 4-1 lead after a two pointer made by
Daniel Armah. Then, the Pirates started to find a rhythm and took a 13-6 lead, forcing WWU to take a timeout.
The timeout didn't slow down Park's hot shooting, as the Pirates went on an 8-2 run taking a 21-8 lead, led by Kyle Enole with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Owls were shooting 33% from the floor at the time and had missed all five of their three point attempts.
Park continued to hold a double-digit lead throughout the half, and with 3:55 remaining the Pirates continued to put on the offensive pressure, hitting 52% of their shots. William Woods was able to cut the lead down to 35-28 after a huge three pointer by
Blake Burgess, forcing a Pirate timeout. A Melvin Rowe basket extended the Pirates lead back to nine at 37-28, ending the first 20:00 minutes.
Armah was the leading scorer for William Woods with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Owls led the boards' battle 19-17, with
D.J. Hoskins being second on the team with five rebounds. Also, Dontre Jenkins became the all-time assist record holder with 201, overtaking Dan Anderson at 198.
Both teams came out much quicker in the second half, but it was the Pirates continuing to hold a 10 point lead at 43-33 at the 14:40 mark. Armah cut the lead down to 45-37 with a two point basket, however, Xavielle Brown went on a tear scoring eight straight points, giving Park its biggest lead of the night at 55-39.
That deficit became too much to overcome, as Park was able to go on for the 15 point victory. The cold shooting for the Owls continued into the second half, as they shot 29% from the field and went 2-of-12 from the three point arc in the final 20:00 minutes.
Armah ended the night with 22 points and 20 rebounds, which is a WWU school record, breaking the previous mark at 19 rebounds. The Pirates had three players in double-figures led by Brown with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Enloe ended the evening with 13 points and Nigel Van Oostrum chipped in 11.
William Woods falls to 12-15 overall, but will look for a key road American Midwest Conference win against Missouri Baptist. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
